A Stars Hollow Adventure
by Raycheld22
Summary: NEWLY EDITED AND UPDATED!BTVS/Gilmore Girls Xover. After season 7 of Buffy and around season 3 or 4 of Gilmore girls Buffy and the gang head out to Stars Hollow to recruit their newest slayer…it's Rory!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: __ I've gone through all of my stories and I've started to edit them. This one has been slightly altered to make it flow better and edited. All of the chapters already posted will be edited and updated and I will have new chapters up shortly. Sorry if you've been waiting on this story for a while, I've had a case of major writer's block._

* * *

Chapter One

**B**uffy was not happy about where she was about to travel to. They'd picked up most of the newer slayers over the last few months, but there were still some that were trickling in over time. The Coven that Giles was working with would tell them when they'd missed one and where to find them. Sometimes they even got a name with the location, and then sometimes they just got a general location. A lot of the girls had been hard to sell about bringing them back to Rome with them, but most of them went willingly because of all of the questions they had. Just about all of the parents had been okay with, even encouraging their children to go along. They didn't know how to handle the situation, so they let Buffy take them with her. They'd based their new headquarters out of Rome, so they sometimes had to wait for passports to come through. Faith had come to Rome with them, she was turning out to be a huge help to Buffy. It was a relief having her; it gave her another slayer to talk to that wasn't a newbie. She'd just gotten a call from Giles, who had told her about a new slayer in Connecticut. Buffy herself was going to go down there to get her. She walked out of her new office and motioned for Dawn to come over, and when she did, Buffy took her aside.

"Giles just called about another slayer. She's apparently around your age, so I want you to come with me, okay?" Dawn nodded.

"I thought we had everyone now. Where is she?" Buffy grinned.

"I'm sure they're going to be coming in for the next several months. Remember, we've still got girls who had to wait for the passports. She's in a place called 'Stars Hollow'. I think the name sounds kind of queer, but it's a real place in Connecticut." Dawn wrinkled her nose.

"Yuck! They have all of that snow and junk." Buffy giggled.

"I have to tell Andrew and Xander to get packed, they're coming with us. I may also bring another slayer." Dawn left to go and get packed as well, excited that her sister was including her for once.

**B**uffy, Dawn, Xander, Andrew, and Rona were all going to fly into Hartford, and then they were going to drive the short distance to Stars Hollow. Andrew was now Buffy's assistant and her right hand guy. He did anything Buffy wanted, whenever she wanted, and even though he was still extremely annoying, he'd become very useful. Dawn sometimes thought he dedicated himself because of Anya. He never talked about the day at the school, but Dawn sensed that he felt bad. Rona was one of the best slayers they had, but she had a severe attitude problem in Dawn's opinion. Well, she wasn't worse than Kennedy, but she was sure close. She was glad that Xander was going, because he was the funny one and tended to stay close to Dawn. He was like the big brother she never got, and she loved him for his protective ways. It took them awhile before they could board the plane, so they had to hang around the terminal and wait. Rona, always the optimist, grumbled as they checked their bags.

"I hope she's not difficult, Buffy. The last girl we went to get…difficult." Buffy smiled.

"I'm sure we'll be fine.

* * *

**R**ory was walking down the hallway in Chilton to get to her locker, when she saw Paris Gellar walking towards her. Rory really didn't understand her relationship with Paris. They'd started out hating each other, and now they were pretty good friends. They talked to one another every single day, worked on school projects together, and were even known to go to the same party every once in a while. It was a good thing that Tristan wasn't still at the school because he was a sore point for Paris. She'd gone on one date with him, had a fabulous time, and he told her he liked her like a sister…poor Paris. Rory was so glad that she had Dean, she didn't have to worry about the nonsense of dating…she'd found her perfect match. The only downside about it was she couldn't see him as often as she wanted. He still went to Stars Hollow High and had a part-time job, so their time together was limited. Her mom sometimes joked with her when she waited impatiently for him to get off of work. She knew she was just poking fun because she was the same way when Luke worked. Rory smiled to herself when Paris stopped beside her.

"Have you picked a subject for your senior project yet?" Rory shrugged and tried not to roll her eyes. School had just started for them, so they had months before they had to worry about that.

"Hey Paris, I've not really thought about it. You do know that it's not due for another six months, right?" Paris glared at Rory.

"Rory, this is very important! This project counts as half of our grade!" Rory did her best to hide her smile.

"I'm aware of that fact, Paris, and I have it down in my calendar to start panicking next month." Paris glared at Rory's sarcastic remark; she didn't like it when Rory got glib about something as important to her as her grades.

"Oh fine, make fun of me! You watch and see though, I'll be the prepared one when the times come, and you won't be able to say that I didn't try and warn you." Paris walked away leaving Rory rolling her eyes.

* * *

**B**uffy was going over her plan while Dawn listened to music, Xander was reading, Andrew was drawing, and Rona was sleeping. Buffy kind of felt bad that she had to take these girls away from their perfectly normal lives and have to throw them into the demon pool…literally. Most of these girls didn't even know that there were demons, let alone that they were supposed to help fight them. Sighing, she closed the folder she was looking at and picked up the plane's phone. She quickly checked her voicemail and was disturbed when she heard a frantic Giles on the other end. She didn't like it when Giles got frantic because that usually meant that the world was going to end unless she stopped it. Frankly, she was tired of all of the apocalypse business getting shoved onto her shoulders. Granted, she did have more fighters now and she didn't have to do it herself, but why did it have to happen so frequently? She didn't want the new girls to have to face something like their first group had been forced to do. It was just lucky that they'd been able to get the power or none of them would have survived. She listened to Giles's message and her stomach immediately got tight. The older British man didn't know how to leave a normal message, it was all so frantic.

"Buffy, you have to call me back as soon as possible! It's urgent that I speak with you before you make contact with the girl." Buffy hung up, swiped her credit card again, and dialed Giles's phone number, which he picked up almost immediately.

"Buffy, is that you?" Buffy was worried that he answered so quickly and that he immediately assumed it was her.

"Yeah Giles, what's up?" She heard him sigh and she found herself wondering if he was cleaning his glasses like he always did when he got stressed.

"It looks like you're not bringing back just one girl, Buffy." Buffy looked over at her traveling group, who were all staring at her with worry in their eyes.

"What are you talking about, Giles? You seriously need to calm down because you're freaking me out a little bit." Giles paused before he continued.

"Sorry, I guess I was getting a little worked up. I got a call from the coven and they said that you were supposed to bring back two girls from the same town…two slayers." Buffy let her head hit the back of her seat. She was really glad that she'd brought everyone now, but she was instantly relieved. Why Giles thought that an extra girl was such a cause for worry, she didn't understand.

"Oh Giles, is that all? I'll call you when we land so I can get more info from you. This call is costing me a fortune." When she hung up, she looked over at the worried faces.

"We're picking up two slayers…not one."

* * *

**T**he bus ride home seemed longer than it normally did for Rory. When she got off of the bus, no one was waiting for her like they normally were. Dean must have had to work and Lane was probably practicing with her band. She decided to walk on home instead of visiting Dean at work. She really didn't feel like talking to Taylor that particular day. When she walked up to her front door, she gingerly turned the knob and shut it just as gently. Something strange was definitely happening to Rory, but she hadn't talked to anyone about it. So far, she'd broken the door on her locker, shattered two glasses she'd been holding, and she bent a spoon like it had been rubber or something. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was sure she'd sound crazy if she told anyone. She walked into her bedroom and stood in front of her bed. Taking a deep breath, she used one hand to lift the bed off of its legs. She was able to lift it to her complete height without exerting herself. She put it down quickly and went into the kitchen. Maybe she was just getting sick or something that had to be all it was.

* * *

**T**he next day, Buffy and the gang got off of the plane at Hartford Airport. They rented a Honda CRV and headed out towards Stars Hollow. Xander was driving; Buffy was up front with him, while the rest of them were in the back. Dawn was looking at the map, Andrew was looking over her shoulder, and Rona was sitting stonily silent like she did. Dawn knew that Andrew wasn't really looking at the map and she had to fight not to smile because she didn't want to bring attention to herself. She knew that it was dumb, but she liked him. He was nerdy and more than a little annoying at times, but he made her laugh like no one had been able to do in quite a while. Sure, they'd beaten the big bad, but they'd paid such a huge cost. She hadn't been able to finish high school like she'd wanted. Buffy had paid for a tutor and she'd gotten her degree by mail, not by walking across the stage like she'd desperately wanted. They'd lost several girls, more than half who had gone down into the pit that day. The one that bothered her the most was losing Spike. He'd looked out for her and made sure she wasn't left out. He'd saved them all, but he was gone now and she missed him. With that thought in her head almost constantly, it was nice that Andrew could distract her. The map she was looking at eventually pulled her attention away from her thoughts. And not being able to stop herself, Dawn finally spoke up.

"Do you realize that Stars Hollow isn't even on a map until you get halfway through Hartford? What is up with that?" Xander glanced in the rearview mirror to smile at her reassuringly.

"Sunnydale was kind of like that you know. It wasn't on the major maps because it was so small. Maybe it's just like that for them." Dawn snickered as a mean sort of thought entered her mind.

"Yeah, let's just hope they're not sitting on top of a hellmouth." Buffy shot her a dirty look over her shoulder.

"Willow looked the town up on the net…they don't have a police force or a fire department. It's all done on a voluntary basis and they haven't had a registered crime since the late 1970's. I think that this'll be a nice break from the other towns." Xander chuckled and Dawn frowned at Buffy.

"It sounds like we're about to enter into 'Pleasantville'." This got Rona to laugh which surprised all of them. She looked at them with her eyebrow raised, a smile still on her face.

"Hey, if I get a break from demons, it's cool." They drove into the day and ended up at the Dragonfly Inn at around two. Buffy advised them to wait until she'd had a look around before they got out of the car. She walked around the yard for a bit and then motioned for them to join her. They got their bags out of the car and handed the keys over to the valet attendant. When they walked into the lobby, there were two people standing behind the desk. One was a very annoyed looking man and the second was a pretty woman reading a magazine. When they approached, the woman threw a look at the man, who didn't budge, and then she turned her full attention to them.

"Welcome to the Dragonfly Inn, how can I help you?" The man standing beside her snickered in a mischievous way.

"You enjoy that way too much." The woman ignored him and Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope so…we need four rooms and we didn't make reservations." The lady flipped through a book.

"You're in luck, I have four rooms available. Did you need any of them to be doubles?" Confused, Buffy looked around and saw what she meant. Unfortunately, she had forgotten about Andrew. She threw an apologetic look to him and to Xander.

"Yes, we do need one double room." The lady pulled out some cards and handed them to her.

"I need everyone to fill one of these cards out, also is everyone twenty-one?" Buffy shook her head.

"My sister is only seventeen, but I'm her legal guardian." The lady smiled again.

"Okay, she doesn't need to fill one out, just add her to your card. Next, how many days will you be staying?" Buffy's phone chose that precise moment to go off and she had to let Xander take over. He walked up the desk and smiled politely at the kind woman behind the counter.

"We're staying for at least five days." The lady nodded again, and while they were filling out their cards, she smiled prettily at Dawn.

"Are you guys on vacation from school?" Dawn shook her head; she hated it when people asked where they were from because she was never quite sure what to tell them.

"No, we're just on vacation from Rome. We moved there a few months ago and we've missed the states. So, we decided that we needed to come and visit home…or around home. We've actually never been here before." The lady's smile just got bigger.

"Wow, I'd kill to live in Rome that must be exciting." Dawn giggled; this woman was extremely easy to talk to.

"It's definitely beautiful there." Buffy handed her the cards and grinned over at Dawn for the tales she was spinning. The lady handed her the keys with her smile still firmly in place.

"Okay, I'll have Tom take your things up with you. My name is Lorelai Gilmore; you can ask me about anything. If I'm not available, this gentleman is Michel and you can bug him anytime you want. I hope you enjoy your stay in Stars Hollow." Dawn smiled again and followed the bellboy up to her room. Maybe Stars Hollow wasn't going to be boring after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**R**ory was finishing up her homework when her mom burst through the front door clearly excited about something. Undoubtedly her mom was going to tell her some spectacular news that just couldn't wait until Rory finished her assignment for school, no she'd have to hear the news right then. Rory just wanted to curl up into a ball; she was genuinely scared about what was happening to her. She had no idea what she was going to do, she just hoped that it would pass and not last forever. She hadn't even confided in Dean what was going on, which was something rare. She shared absolutely everything with her mother and just about as much with Dean. Lane was the same way with her; she was just blessed to have such loyal friends that didn't blab her business everywhere. When her mom stopped in front of her, she looked up and smiled, which caused Lorelai to grin.

"So, we have tourists at the inn." Rory gave her a confused look…this was the awesome news of the day? Lorelai ignored her expression and kept talking.

"This is exciting though! These visitors are from one of your favorite places, Rome! They're staying at my Inn!" Rory nodded, trying to muster some enthusiasm.

"It's a bit early for a tourist, that's weird." Lorelai sat down, slightly disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm.

"Do you wanna go to Luke's for dinner tonight?" Rory nodded her agreement; it was that or suffer her mother's lack of cooking skills.

"Yeah, but let me finish my homework first!"

* * *

**D**awn and Andrew wandered away from the group and were walking down Main Street. Dawn hadn't told anyone, but the two of them had started dating each other. She knew that her sister and especially Xander would ridicule her beyond belief. They were holding hands as they walked in silence around the town. They were looking for somewhere to eat and they weren't sure where to go. They had some of the oddest business names in this town; she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. They stopped in the park to see if they could agree on something and a boy about her age came up to them. He was extremely tall and the kind of guy that Dawn normally found attractive. He had shaggy brown hair that fell attractively in his face in just the right position, and a strong jaw line that had Dawn staring slightly. It wasn't that Andrew wasn't attractive; it was just that she was taller than he was and he was very nerdy. She shook her head just a fraction to pull herself out of her current thoughts. The boy tilted his head as he looked at them and smiled in a friendly way that Dawn wasn't used.

"Are you guys lost? I'd be happy to help you find wherever it is you're looking to go." Dawn wasn't used to people being nice…it was weird.

"We're looking for a good place to eat, do you have any suggestions?" His smile got wider as he looked at them, his head nodding in the affirmative.

"Luke's Diner is the best choice in this area. I'm headed over there right now actually; I'll take you there if you want. My name is Dean by the way." Andrew gave him a look that was supposed to be intimidating and Dawn playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Forgive him, please, he's harmless. I'm Dawn and this is Andrew." Dean nodded again and led the way to Luke's Diner. Dawn thought the diner was really cute and very different from anywhere she'd ever seen. The boy left them to sit with a young girl and the lady who worked at the Inn. When she saw them, she stood up and waved them over. Dawn and Andrew walked over to their table with shy smiles. Lorelai motioned for them to sit down, which they did, hesitantly.

"Hey, so you guys decided to explore our little town?" Andrew nodded, glanced over at Dawn and grinned, finally relaxing.

"We had to get away from Buffy…she's a little cranky." This got the younger girl to giggle and Dean to smile. He leaned forward so that Dawn and Andrew could hear him better in the crowded diner.

"I guess you know Lorelai then, this is her daughter, my girlfriend, Rory." Lorelai laughed at his introductions causing Rory to glare at her.

"I like the introductions, Dean; I'll have to let Rory keep you around for a while." She turned her attention back to Dawn and Andrew.

"You're welcome to eat with us, Luke's is the best. Don't tell Sookie I told you that though. Anyway, I'm fascinated to learn how you came to live in Rome, it sounds so exciting." Andrew threw dawn a cautious look who just shrugged and answered Lorelai's harmless question.

"Honestly, we just sort of ended up there. We're originally from Sunnydale California and with its demise; we had to find another place to live." Lorelai's happy face fell at her declaration.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to pry." Dawn smiled politely at the lady.

"It's okay, really. We'd been evacuated, so we weren't there when it happened, but we did lose our house. There were seven of us that lived together, so when our house got swallowed, we just decided to start over." Rory spoke up then, the shy girl looked extremely sad at her story.

"Wow that must have been so hard, I'm sorry." Dawn liked the girl instantly, she seemed genuinely nice. Their food came then and Lorelai smiled.

"Luke, look we made new friends! Please take their orders, you sexy man." Luke glared at the grinning Lorelai and chuckled when he saw Rory and Dean grimace. He turned his attention to Dawn and Andrew then.

"What can I get you?" Dawn looked over at Lorelai and back at Luke.

"What she's having looks really good, though I'd prefer soda instead of coffee." Luke wrote their order down and sort of half smiled at her.

"Wow, someone who doesn't' drink coffee, I'm amazed. Maybe you could rub off on those guys, they drink way too much." They were about halfway through their meal, when Dawn's cell phone started to go off. She saw the sign behind the counter and started to get up, only to have Lorelai shake her head and wave her back down. She sat back down and answered the phone to a very irate Buffy.

"Dawn, where the hell are you? We're in a brand new town and you just up and decided to wander off by yourself!" Dawn threw an uncomfortable glance at her audience.

"Buffy, Andrew and I are just at a diner down the way a bit. We wanted to look around." She heard Buffy sigh in frustration. Dawn didn't know why Buffy still insisted on treating her like a kid. Yes, she wasn't eighteen yet, but she hadn't been a kid since the whole Glory incident. Buffy sounded contrite when she addressed her again.

"Sorry, Dawnie, it's a reflex. By the way, since when do you spend so much time with…oh no…are you dating Andrew?" Dawn cringed, but Buffy sounded shocked and continued talking.

"Dawn, what's going on with you? Andrew…are you serious?" Dawn looked up at Andrew, her face turning bright red.

"It just sort of happened, Buffy, there's nothing wrong with it." She was afraid that Buffy had hung up on her when she heard Buffy laughing hysterically. Dawn frowned into her phone; this really wasn't the reaction she'd anticipated.

"Buffy, why are you laughing at me?" Buffy tried to stop laughing, but she was unable to.

"I'm sorry, Dawnie, I'll talk to you later. Don't stay out too late with—" She cut off with another fit of giggles. Dawn scowled and closed her phone and looked up to find Lorelai looking worried.

"Is everything okay?" Dawn smiled, still not used to people that were nice from the get go.

"Yes, it was just my sister…its fine." Andrew leaned over to her, clearly anxious to know what she'd said.

"Are you lying?" Dawn glared at him, not angry with him, but aggravated anyway.

"Buffy figured out that we're dating." Rory interrupted them, a shy smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"Is that a bad thing? I think you two make a cute couple." Dawn smiled brightly at her.

"He's a little bit older than me, and she's very over protective of late." They didn't ask any more questions after that which Dawn was grateful for. When they finished their meal, Dean stopped them before they left.

"Listen, since you're new in the area, you should hang out with us tomorrow night. Rory and I are going to see our friend, Lane, play in her band." Dawn looked over at Andrew, who looked cautious. Dawn thought the invitation was nice and she wanted to go, so she looked back at Dean and shrugged.

"I'm not sure that we'll be able to make it, but thanks for inviting us." Rory tore off a piece of paper she'd been writing on and handed it to her.

"Well, here is my number if you decide that you do want to go. It starts at seven so we can just meet somewhere and go together." Dawn took the number and smiled softly to herself. It had been a long time since she'd been able to make friends her own age.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for letting us join you, it was really fun." Lorelai smiled and waved her off.

"Don't worry about it; we don't see new faces too often around here. Do you need a ride back to the Inn?" Dawn shook her head.

"That's okay; I think we're going to walk." Lorelai waved bye as they walked out of the diner and down the street. On the way back to the Inn, Andrew watched Dawn and commented when she was quiet.

"What's the matter?" Dawn looked back at Andrew with her sadness etched on her face.

"We got to act normal for a few hours, and it was nice." Andrew put his arm around Dawn's shoulders, comforting her.

"Believe me, I know what you mean."

* * *

**L**orelai and Rory drove home in silence after dinner. It was nice to meet new people; it was one of the reasons that Lorelai had wanted her own inn. Lorelai liked how Rory was attempting to make new friends as well; she used to be so extremely shy. It was wonderful to see her branch out and go outside of her comfort zone every now and then. She kind of felt sorry for Dawn though, she had an air of sadness that she couldn't hide from a mother. She didn't want to ask her about her mother, but she was obviously out of the picture. It was nice that her sister was willing to take care of her, but clearly Dawn wasn't adjusting well to their new lifestyle. When they walked back into the house, Lorelai grinned at Rory.

"Look at you, making new friends…it's cute." Rory shrugged, she didn't want her mom to notice that something was different with her.

"She seemed kind of sad though, didn't she?" Lorelai nodded glad that Rory had picked up on it. Maybe the two of them could become friends and maybe even pen pals.

"She did at that, honey. I can't believe you're leaving me alone with the grandparents tomorrow! It's so not fair, Rory, what did I do to you to make you punish me so?" Rory grinned evilly at her mother.

"Lane would absolutely kill me if I missed her concert and you know it. She's a little disappointed that you're not going." Lorelai groaned because she wanted to go with them! Instead she was going to be forced to listen to Emily Gilmore all night long, it definitely wasn't fair.

"Maybe I could feign sickness and go with you." Rory giggled at the prospect of that.

"Grandma would just prop you up at the table." Lorelai cackled, Rory was so very much her daughter.

"Oh, she would, wouldn't she?" Rory walked into her room with a sigh. She hoped that Dawn took her up on her offer because it would be a nice distraction to make a new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**T**he next day, Dawn stayed close to the Inn. Buffy was on the phone constantly with Giles, trying to get a hint as to who one of the girls were that they were supposed to bring in. They weren't able to pick up very much, which was unusual for the coven. They normally only took one day to get the girl, and the rest of the time was trying to convince her and her family that she needed to come with Buffy to be trained. It was very hard sometimes to get the girls to go and they'd actually failed on more than one occasion. However, most of those times, the girls showed up on their own after a few weeks. They realized that they needed to be trained and taught how to control their powers. Dawn sometimes wished that she could leave the whole slayer world behind, but she could never do that to Buffy. She was afraid that if she left and started living her own life then something horrible would happen to Buffy and she wouldn't be there. Besides, she was useful to them, she knew that. She'd gotten really good in decoding languages, translating spells, and research with Willow and Xander. She just sometimes wondered what a normal life would be like. About an hour later, Buffy walked up to Dawn looking exhausted.

"Well, we finally have a name of one of the girls, which is a huge relief. The other is just a word, it's kind of bazaar really. Rory is the name we were able to get, but the thing that's baffling us is 'Lane'. What the hell does that mean?" Dawn frowned at the information her sister gave her. It just figured that her new friend was the slayer they'd come searching for. It was never easy any more and more than a little unfair how these things worked. Dawn sat up from her perch waited for Buffy to sit down before she gave her the news, but it she was too agitated so Dawn just had to tell her.

"I know who they are." Buffy had started to leave, but once Dawn's words registered, she stopped and turned to face her.

"What do you mean you know who they are?" Dawn shrugged her shoulders slightly, suddenly very upset that her new friend was one of the chosen.

"I met Rory last night and she mentioned her friend, Lane, who is in a band." Buffy sat down, completely stunned, but then a huge smile spread across her face.

"This is great, Dawn! Where is she?" Dawn looked down, still kind of sad.

"She asked Andrew and me to go see Lane's band play tonight. I'll call her later…once she's out of school." Buffy smiled brightly at her.

"Good work, Dawn!" She got up, still smiling, and left to no doubt call Giles again.

* * *

**R**ory was actually excited about going to see Lane's band play. Dawn had called her and told her that she wanted to go. Dawn seemed really cool, so Rory was looking forward to getting to know her better. When she got home, she dropped her book bag on the floor and quickly started changing her clothes. She was supposed to meet Dean over at Luke's, and she'd told Dawn to meet them there. She threw her discarded clothes in the hamper and took off at jog down the street. When she arrived, Dean was already sitting at their usual table, holding a cup of coffee out for her. She took it gratefully and sat down with a smile. She kissed him hello briefly and then started staring at the door. Dean chuckled at her, knowing immediately what she was doing.

"Did you hear from Dawn today about going?" Rory nodded enthusiastically.

"She called me right as I was getting off of the bus. She said that she'd meet us here in a few minutes. Andrew begged off for the evening, so we shouldn't be too couply around her, it might seem rude." Dean nodded with a knowing smile.

"You seem very excited to have made a new friend…I think it's adorable." Rory playfully glared at him, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face for too long.

"Believe me, it's not something that happens to me every day. I'm not given the opportunity anymore. We know everyone that lives in Stars Hollow, and I have no desire to hang out with any of the Chilton kids." Dean glanced at his watch.

"I hope she hurries, I want to order food."

* * *

**D**awn almost didn't go into the diner when she saw how cute they were. She didn't want to lie about what had happened in Sunnydale. She was going to have to lie and pretend that she didn't know who Rory was for the evening. She walked hesitantly through the door and had a sinking feeling when she saw how cuddly she was with Dean. She had a really good relationship with him and now she was going to have to leave him. She was just about to sit down at their table, when her cell phone started to ring. She knew that Luke didn't like cell phones, so she walked back outside to answer it. She was more than a little peeved when she saw that it was her sister, checking up on her.

"Dawn, are you there yet?" Dawn clenched her jaw resignedly.

"Yes Buffy, I'm here. I'm gonna play it cool and I won't say anything. I've got it, okay?" She heard Buffy rummaging through something as she answered her.

"That's just it, Dawn, Giles thinks that you'd be the best person to approach her since you've been friendly with her. She might get really upset at the fact we told her instead of you." Dawn scoffed, getting more agitated by the moment. Telling the girls that they were slayers totally wasn't in Dawn's job description.

"Whatever Buffy, I'm not about to do that! It's your job to tell her and explain things, okay? I'm sick and tired of being your little fetch dog. I'm not part of the whole 'destiny' thing, so I've been thinking, and I want out. I'm tired of traveling from place to place, so I think I'm done. I can't even go in there now, you've made me tense." She heard Buffy gasp when she started her tirade.

"Dawn, where the hell is this coming from all of the sudden? I thought that you liked helping me." Dawn was almost in tears; she was very stressed out and a little depressed.

"You don't appreciate anything that Xander, Andrew, or I do. You just expect us to take your orders, but we never get a 'thank you', and I'm your sister, Buffy. I'm not special like you and the others, I'm ordinary, and I'm just now starting to realize that that's okay. Maybe if I'm away from you, then I'm away from constant danger, drama, and chaos. So, if you want to rip these girls out of their nice normal life, you'll have to do it, because I refuse. Rory has a boyfriend, Buffy, a nice stable boyfriend that she's in love with. You of all people know how hard it is to leave someone you care that way about. I can't be the one to ask anyone to do it…ever." She hung up her phone and started walking back down the street. She stopped when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw that Rory and Dean were standing outside now, looking at her with worried expressions. Rory walked up to her and tentatively smiled at her.

"Dawn, are you okay? Please don't leave, we'll take you to this concert and it will cheer you up, I guarantee it." Dawn wanted to walk away, but she didn't want to be rude.

"Sorry about that, that's really embarrassing." They sat down at the table they'd been sitting at and Rory tried to be sympathetic. Dean cringed as he asked her a question.

"You can tell me to mind my own business, but I was just wondering where your mom and dad were?" Dawn had expected the question eventually, everyone eventually asked it.

"My mom died about three years ago, and custody went to my sister because my dad isn't around much." Dean winced at her answer, seeming to regret asking.

"Man, I'm really sorry, Dawn. I'll bet that sucks having to listen to your sister." Dawn smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, it definitely blows." She started to say something else when Andrew burst through the door.

"Dawn, can I talk to you for a minute?" Rory and Dean smiled politely at him as Dawn walked outside. Once they were outside, Andrew rounded on her.

"What the heck happened, Dawn? Buffy is crying at what you said to her, and she keeps apologizing to me and Xander. It's really uncomfortable. I think you should come back with me and apologize to her." Dawn scoffed angry that Andrew was yelling at her for something he didn't even know about. He hadn't been a part of the conversation, yet he just assumed that everything was her fault and that perfect Buffy had done nothing wrong.

"She deserved it, Andrew! Xander goes into everything head first, lost an eye, you gave up your life…I mean the good part and you follow her around like a little puppy. I research all day, read and learn different languages that I'll never be able to use in a normal conversation, and I've had it. She takes us for granted, doesn't say thank you, and it's about time someone spoke up." Andrew crosses his arms and huffed.

"I do not follow her around like a puppy that makes me mad. Do you understand what she has to do every day? She has to…do stuff and care for you on top of it. I think the least you could do is a little research and stop being a brat about it." Dawn's mouth dropped open at his words.

"I'm a brat because I'm tired of being used like a secretary? You're taking my sister's side over mine? You're spineless, Andrew! A boyfriend doesn't call his girlfriend a brat; they're supposed to be supportive! It does make sense now why you decided to flirt with me. Just go back to Buffy, Andrew, we're done." She stalked back into the diner and faced her new friends.

"I'm so sorry about these displays of craziness. I think that I'm going to skip the concert. I've had my fill of confrontations and I'm afraid that Buffy herself will follow me." Rory shook her head.

"Oh please don't go! We'll leave now so they won't be able to follow us." Dawn sighed, grabbed her purse, and followed them outside to Rory's car. Dean smiled again at her.

"It's a little outside of town, so it'll give you a break."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Here is the newest chapter. I already have the next six chapters typed up, they will be posted later today. Reviews are appreciated :)_

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_Chapter Four_

**D**awn couldn't believe that she'd gone off on Buffy like that. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. Andrew had really pissed her off and she didn't know what she was going to do there. Dawn had decided that she would tell Rory, she was probably scared about what was happening to her and she was becoming friends with her. She knew that if it was her and someone didn't tell her when they knew, she'd be very upset. Dawn had yet to see any hints of the slayer mojo and the realization that she could have the wrong Rory hit her. Lane, she knew was right because it wasn't a common name at all, but there could be another Rory in the area. She knew that it was sort of mean to hope that there was in fact another Rory because that would mean that her new friend would be normal…like her. They arrived at the concert and Dawn was still embarrassed about the two fights that they'd witnessed now. They didn't mention any of it all; they just seemed to want to treat her to a good time. Dean looked over at her and gave her another friendly smile.

"Don't feel embarrassed about what happened back there, Dawn. The one time that Rory and I broke up, the entire town knew about it and kept making snarky remarks to me." Dawn laughed and shook her head.

"I guess that's what happens when you live in a small town." Dean laughed with her and nodded.

"I really think it's just the Gilmore's. They're sort of revered here in Stars Hollow." Rory smacked his arm playfully.

"We are not, stop spreading the vicious lies! This is just an extremely small town and everybody knows each other. My mom has lived here since she was sixteen and I've lived here since I was a baby." Dawn smiled at their playful banter; it was so nice to be around normal for a change. They found a spot near the stage and waited for the band to start. They were the opening act and would be playing first. When at last they took the stage, Rory pointed Lane out to her. She was the drummer of the band and appeared to be having the absolute best time of her life. Dawn was again hit with the fact that her life would never be normal like this again. These girls would be taken out of their pleasant life and forced into training. They wouldn't even be able to finish high school; they'd have to do what she'd done or just get their GED.

**W**hen the concert was over, they stood around the stage, waiting for Lane to appear. When she did at last, Rory embraced her and went on to tell her how awesome her band had sounded. Dean also started in about how they had sounded, which was cool and a normal 'friend' thing to do. Dawn let herself slip off unnoticed because she felt that she was being mean to her own friends. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Xander's number. He picked it up on the second ring, and it was clear that he was not happy with her and that he was worried.

"Dawnie, is that you?" She hesitated, but went ahead.

"Hey Xander, yes it's me." He sighed with relief into the phone.

"Dawnie, where are you? Rona and Buffy are out looking for you right now. You've had us all completely worried sick about you!" Dawn felt really bad and winced into her phone.

"I really don't know what came over me, Xander, I just go so mad. Why does everything always have to be so hard? We defeated the hellmouth, but things haven't gotten any easier." Xander spoke softly to her, hearing her distress.

"It's always going to be hard, Dawn, that's just our life. Buffy has a lot of work to do still, and we've got to be there to help her. I know it doesn't seem fair or ideal, but we keep her grounded and from going completely crazy." Dawn shut her eyes for a moment knowing that what he was saying was true. Yes, she wasn't alone, but she was still the central slayer in charge. Faith Deferred to her on most cases these days and let Buffy make all of the important decisions.

"We'll be leaving here in a minute, and I'll be back at the Inn then." Xander sighed with relief once more.

"That's good, Dawnie. I really think that you and Buffy need to sit down and have a talk, I think it'll help your situation."

**D**awn got off of the phone with Xander and searched the crowd for Rory and Dean. She started to panic a little bit when she didn't see them. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and started to scan the crowd again. She didn't see them by the stage anymore, so she started looking around. She finally spotted Rory and her friend Lane by the restrooms, but Dean wasn't anywhere to be found. As Dawn started to walk towards Rory and Lane, she saw a boy walk up to the two girls. Dawn knew almost immediately that he was a vampire and pulled a stake out from her purse. She hung back a little to make absolutely certain she was correct, but it was almost as if she'd inherited Buffy's sixth sense since the Hellmouth battle. He walked up to them with a sure walk, as if he knew them, and maybe he even did. She continued to stay back at a distance to make sure she was picking up on it correctly. The boy stopped in front of them with a huge grin, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey Rory, Lane, how's it going?" Rory smiled politely at him.

"Hi Jared, I thought that you transferred out last year." He shrugged his shoulders and looked behind him slightly, as if signaling someone.

"I'm just here visiting and to hear some good music. I can't believe that you're in a band, Lane! How'd you get that past Mrs. Kim?" Lane glanced uncomfortably at Rory.

"It's a really long story." Jared nodded, not really interested at all.

"I met your boyfriend, Rory. His name is Dean, right? He met some of his friends and asked if I could come and get you. He said that you were riding with him." Rory smiled, completely oblivious to the lie.

"Okay great, where did he go?" Jared smiled darkly as the two girls turned to throw away the drinks they held in their hands.

"He's over by the parking lot. Come on, I'll take you to him." Rory and Lane started walking with him and Dawn saw him glance over his shoulder to make sure that no one was looking at them. Taking the initiative, Dawn took off running after them; she wasn't going to let them get taken by him. She caught up with them right as they reached the parking lot. Dawn stopped just beside Rory and spoke through her gasps for air.

"Hey Rory, I've been looking all over the place for you, we got separated." Rory smiled really big at her.

"We were wondering where you ran off to, Dawn. This is my best friend, Lane. Oh, and this is Jared, we went to school with him before he transferred out." Dawn nodded and smiled politely, but Jared scowled at her.

"Get lost." Rory and Lane jerked their heads towards him in surprise, but Dawn advanced a bit.

"You're looking a little pale, Jared, what's that about?" Rory was glancing back and forth between the two of them, very confused.

"Did I miss something here? Do you guys know each other?" Dawn snickered at Jared.

"Not quite, but I know of his kind." Jared's eyes went wide at her words and took a step back when he saw the stake in her hands.

"You're a slayer!" Dawn rolled her eyes, not going to correct him.

"That's right, Jared." She showed him her stake and he growled at her, causing Rory and Lane to jump back. He started to advance on her, but thought better of it and started running towards the woods. Dawn didn't try and run after him, just turned to Rory and Lane.

"Where is Dean? We have to get out of here before he comes back with some of his friends. I'm not a slayer like he thinks I am and I can't take on more than one, so we have to go now!" Rory just stared, unable to speak as Dean came up beside them.

"Hey, I've been looking for you guys." Dawn sighed and turned to him so that they could get going. What had happened wasn't registering with the two girls and they needed to get moving.

"Dean, it's important that we leave right now and go to the Inn." Dean chuckled and nodded, clearly not grasping the danger in the air.

"Okay sure, let's get going." He ushered them to Rory's car and opened the door for Rory, but Dawn shook her head.

"You should drive, Dean." Dean gave her a confused look and started to get in when they heard growling and screaming. They all looked over and saw about five guys charging in their direction. Dawn couldn't help the panic that set in then.

"Crap, they're coming for us, get in the car now!" Rory and Lane screamed as the group got closer. They scrambled into the car, but Jared got there first and grabbed Rory around the waist. Dawn swore and ran around the car, knowing that Buffy was going to be severely pissed that she'd fought a vamp by herself. The other vampires were messing around with another group of kids. She didn't know exactly what to do, but went up behind him and with all of the strength she could muster, stabbed him in the back. He reared back and immediately burst into ashes. Dawn shoved Rory into the backseat after Lane, and climbed in beside them. Dean, not needed a hint, took off. Rory and Lane were in silent shock for a long time. Dawn pulled her phone out and dialed her sister's phone this time, who picked up quickly.

"Dawnie, is that you? I've been looking everywhere for you! We need to talk about what you said-" Dawn didn't let her finish, she cut her off.

"I completely agree, Buffy, but I'm in the middle of an emergency. We're on our way to the Inn, I have both girls." Buffy grew serious.

"What happened?" Dawn glanced at the three shocked individuals and made a face.

"We were attacked by some vampires. I took one out, but I don't know if we're being followed or not." Buffy groaned into the phone, but Dawn couldn't tell if it was an angry sound or not.

"We'll head over to the Inn now. Dawnie, did you say you took out a vamp?" Dawn laughed and hung up the phone. Rory glanced over at her and glared.

"Dawn, What the hell is going on?" Lane was looking too and Dean kept glancing in the rear view mirror at her, causing Dawn to grimace.

"I'm sorry about what happened, guys, but I haven't been totally honest with you. Buffy is a vampire slayer...and so are the two of you." Rory blinked a few times before she answered.

"A vampire...as in undead with fangs and can't go into the sunlight?" Dawn nodded and continued as quickly as she could.

"I was excited when I met you because I haven't had a normal friend in a long time and you were really nice to me. Then Buffy got the call saying a Rory and Lane were the newest members of the Slayer brigade. That's why you heard me arguing with my sister. I didn't want to disrupt the life you have here." Rory continued to look at her with no expression as she spoke.

"Is that where my weird strength came from all of the sudden?" Lane burst out then, unable to contain herself.

"You've got weird abnormal strength? I thought that I was going crazy or something, that's why I didn't say anything to you." Dawn looked away as the two friends began exchanging stories. She was sad about the situation, but Rory had Lane to go through it with. Dean was silent and didn't speak as he continued to drive the car towards the Dragonfly. When they pulled into the Inn, Xander was outside, waiting on them. Dawn walked up to him with a broken smile on her face.

"Hey Xander, here are the newest recruits. Dean was with us when it happened, so he knows." Xander nodded and patted her on the back.

"Buffy told me you bagged yourself a vamp, good on you. You stopped an attack?" Dawn nodded.

"It was attacking Rory, so I staked him in the back. I guess fighting those super vamps helped." Xander nodded and then turned his attention to the three new kids.

"Okay, Buffy is up in her room, we think that's the best place to explain everything to you. Are all of you under eighteen?" Dean spoke up for the first time then to answer the question, his voice sounding sort of hollow as if he was still in shock.

"Lane and I are eighteen, but Rory still has a few months to go before that happens." Xander glanced at Dawn as he nodded, knowing that would mean for a sticky situation.

"Okay that just means that we'll have to talk to your mom, Rory."

**T**he four of them followed Xander up to Buffy's room. Dawn almost didn't go in, but Xander gave her a pointed look and held the door open for her. Shaking her head, she walked past him and parked herself in one of the chairs by the window. Buffy was busy, however, because a woman that Dawn didn't recognize was standing in the room, engaged in conversation with Buffy. The conversation stopped almost immediately after they'd all entered the room. Rory, Dean, and Lane stared with a dumbfounded expression at the lady, as if they knew her. Dean took a couple of steps forward and continued to stare at the woman. She turned to face him fully, her face completely blank of any expression at all. Dean shook his head and turned his back on her briefly before whipping around and staring once more.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" His mother winced as she stared at him, the expression only lasting a second before her face became blank again.

"I'm talking to the Slayer, Dean; I'll be with you in a moment." Dawn gave Rona a questioning look. She walked over to where she sat and popped herself up onto the table to sit.

"Mrs. Forester is a watcher or a retired watcher, I should say. She knew about the council blowing up and she's set up safety spells at the edges of the town to keep demons out. She knew Buffy was here because she'd talked to Giles. Dawn gave her a confused look and then turned her head to look at the tall woman.

"I thought all of the watchers were British." Rona didn't get a chance to remark or answer because Mary turned to face Dawn with a hint of a smirk.

"Not quite all of them dear, it just depends on where you were raised. I really don't mean to be rude, so please forgive my curiosity. Am I correct in saying that you're the Key?" Dawn felt her face go red as several pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. Dawn glanced at her sister who was frowning at Dean's mom. Dawn looked back at her and shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to be nonchalant.

"Well I was…not anymore though because Glory didn't succeed. I don't open anything anymore." Mary smiled a creepy smile as she continued to stare at her.

"That's not entirely true, I'm afraid." Dawn started to say something, but Mrs. Forester looked over at her son and finally addressed him.

"I want you to listen to what Ms. Summers has to say, Dean. We'll talk when she's finished. Rory, I've called your mother because she needs to be here as well since you're under age. Lane, I didn't think that Mrs. Kim would understand, so I did not call her." There was a knock on the door and Lorelai walked into the room after Andrew answered it. She looked at Rory first, but then took in the whole scene. Before she could speak, Mrs. Forester spoke to her in a kind voice.

"I'm glad you could come, Lorelai, this is pretty important. I think everyone needs to be seated so that Buffy and her friends can have the floor." Once everyone had done as she'd asked, Buffy stood up, her face uncertain.

"Okay then, I guess I'll start. My name is Buffy Summers and I'm the vampire slayer. Basically, I stop vampires and demons alike from trying to hurt people and take over the world. I've been doing this since I was fifteen years old when my watcher came up to me after school one day to explain why I had all of this power. Eventually, I came to settle in Sunnydale and it was, unfortunately, right on top of a Hellmouth. After several years of fighting and averting dozens of apocalypses, we defeated the hellmouth…which caused Sunnydale to collapse in on itself. At that last battle, my friend did a spell that would awaken the power in every potential slayer. So, instead of just me, every girl who could be called after me was given the power. The power itself can be dangerous, so I've come to help. Rory, Lane, you're both slayers." Before she could continue, Rory spoke up from where she sat on the floor next to Lane and Dean.

"So, this super strength that I've got…you have it too?" Buffy nodded as she looked at Rory.

"Yes and I know that it can be daunting and even a little scary. It'll take a lot of training before you can really understand your full potential as well as how to control it." Lane cleared her throat before she too asked a question.

"You defend the earth from evil…like Wonder Woman?" Buffy giggled at the reference and nodded once more.

"Yes, though I'm not the only one out there fighting. Here is the difficult part that you're probably not going to like. The two of you need to be trained to protect yourselves. Now that you have the power, there are certain demons and entities that can sense it. Not all of them will seek you out, but some will. You have to be trained properly so that you can protect yourself. The difficult part is that I need you to come with me back to our headquarters in order to do that." Lorelai jumped up from her position on the floor then, clearly having heard enough.

"Okay, I think we can stop this little game now. I don't know if this is some sort of a joke or not, but we are leaving now. Rory, grab your things so we can go. Lane, I suggest that you get home right now. Mary, I'm very disappointed that you subjected my daughter and your son to this craziness." Rory stood up, but she made no move to leave as she looked sadly at her mother.

"It's not craziness mom, she's telling the truth. On the way back from the concert tonight, we were attacked by a vampire. Dawn saved us and we were able to make it back okay. I do have the strength that she's talking about, mom." Lorelai shrugged her jacket back on as she shook her head in denial.

"Honey, this is ridiculous! You don't have special powers, you're completely normal." Rory got frustrated then and walked over to Dawn.

"That stake you carry around with you, can I see it?" Dawn gave her a startled look, but handed it over like she asked. Rory walked over to her mom and handed it to her.

"Try and break it, mom." Lorelai sighed in exasperation and took the stake from her. She tried several times to break the stake in half, but the wood wouldn't so much as crack.

"Rory, this is solid wood, there is no breaking it." Rory took it gently out of her mother's hands and broke it in half easily as she looked her mother in the eye. Lorelai stared at her daughter for a full sixty seconds before she burst out once more.

"Rory, you are not going anywhere, do you understand? You're going to graduate from Chilton and then you're going to go to Harvard like we've always planned for you." Dawn watched as a tear slipped down Rory's cheek.

"Mom, I'm not so sure I can do that, okay? I have a power that I can't control and Buffy can teach me how…I want to go to Rome with them." Dean walked to stand next to her, panic written all over his face.

"Rory, you can't go to Rome, don't be silly!" Mrs. Forester stepped up then and spoke before anyone else could.

"Honey, I told you that we needed to talk because you're going to Rome too."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: This chapter is a lot longer than _I originally anticipated, but I decided not to break it up into two. Hope you like, please review :)

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Chapter Five

**E**veryone in the room turned to stare at Mrs. Forester as she made this statement to Dean. He stopped his speech to Rory and turned to look at his mother once more. Dawn actually began to feel happier about the situation because that would mean that Rory would get to keep a lot of her normal, only she'd still have to fight demons. Lorelai was cut off from where Rory was standing because Dean, Lane, and Buffy were in between them staring at Dean's mom. Dawn felt bad for Lorelai because who knew when she'd get to see her daughter again when she left. In a way it was better because Dawn remembered the fights that Buffy had gotten into with their mom whenever she had to go out and fight some evil. Dawn knew that she technically hadn't been there for all of that, but the memories were there when she'd kicked Buffy out of the house on the night she'd had to kill Angel. Dawn was brought back to her thoughts when she heard Mrs. Forester start to explain.

"It's tradition in the watcher families that the job and the knowledge get passed on to the children. When we moved here away from Chicago, I'd made my decision that I wasn't going to bring you or your sister into this life. However, since the Watchers Council was destroyed, there doesn't seem to be another choice. There are only the children left except for three of us that I know of. You are going to Rome with Buffy to study under Rupert Giles, one of the very last watchers." She stopped talking for a moment and then looked over at where Buffy stood.

"Is Wesley Wyndam-Price coming back to join you as well?" Buffy glanced at her friends uncomfortably as she nodded. Dawn was shocked; she hadn't thought that he would leave Angel's side. Buffy crossed her arms as she answered to everyone instead of just to Mrs. Forester.

"Giles was able to convince him of that, yes. He and Giles are going to split up classes with the five watcher juniors that we've got so far." Mrs. Forester smiled and nodded her head as she looked back at her son.

"That's very good; who do you have so far?" Buffy threw a cautious glance at Dawn that Dawn didn't understand before she answered.

"Well, there's Jake Hallart, Daveen Campbell, Stuart Monty, Dean, and…Dawn." Dawn looked at her sister sharply, but couldn't say anything because Dean's mother did it for her.

"You're going to train your sister to be a watcher?" Buffy's small smile turned into a full-fledged one as she glanced at her sister.

"Dawn has been researching, cataloging, fighting, and translating for a few years now. She's become very helpful and very knowledgeable. I approached Giles with the suggestion and he agreed completely, it's only fair." Dawn could do nothing but stare at her sister. Did she think that by making her a junior watcher for real was going to make everything better? Xander smiled gently at her and patted her shoulder. Lane stepped forward to stand in front of Buffy.

"I don't know how exactly I'll explain things to my mother, but I want to go." Lorelai shook her head and exploded at her announcement.

"Okay that is about enough girls! Rory and Lane, this is completely out of the question, now I want both of you to get your things so we can leave right now." Rory shook her head and turned to look at her mom with a sad smile.

"Mom…I'm going." Buffy winced at her and turned to look at the older woman. Dawn almost wanted to talk Rory out of going, but she knew that she needed to be trained. Buffy looked at everyone as she spoke.

"I really do have to get back as soon as possible. I've got a little over three hundred girls at our Hotel that I bought in Rome. We're educating as well as training, it's imperative. We're getting more girls every single day, which is why we're training as many watchers as we can find. The girls aren't going to want to stay cooped in the hotel forever; they'll be assigned an area with a watcher. Unfortunately with only a handful of watchers, each will get at least five girls, maybe more. However, most of them still have a long way to go, which is why I need to get back." Xander looked over at Lorelai for a moment before looking at Dean and Lane.

"We're scheduled to leave the day after tomorrow, we've had to cut our trip a day or so short." Dean swallowed hard and took a deep breath as if trying to process all of the information that people kept throwing at him.

"What about school, I'm a senior this year?" Buffy winced slightly before she answered; Dawn knew that the school issue was the one aspect that Buffy wished could be different.

"Unfortunately, there would be no more school. You could get your diploma via the mail like Dawn did, we have a tutor on payroll, or you can just opt to take your GED. The choice is yours, but we can't risk sending you to the local schools in the area." Dean surprised Dawn by grinning widely at the announcement.

"Well, I'm actually okay with that. Rory, are you sure you want to throw everything you've worked so hard for away though? It looks like I'm going regardless, but you're so smart and you've been working so hard for so long." Lorelai threw her hands up and huffed desperately at his words.

"Finally someone speaks some sense, thank you Dean. Rory, you'd be throwing your entire life away, and I refuse to let you do it!" Rory rounded on her mother, Dawn could tell that she was angry.

"Are you not listening to what they're saying or are you just choosing to ignore it? I'd be able to control this power that's causing me to break things left and right. I'd be able to help people, maybe even save lives. I don't understand how that qualifies as throwing my life away! I'm sorry if you don't understand this, but it's what I have to do. You can go ahead and go home, mom. I'll come home tomorrow once you're calm so that we can talk about this rationally and to pack my things." Rory ignored her mother's sputtering outrage and turned to look at Dean.

"Dean, do you have your passport?" He nodded and glanced over at his mother with a small smile.

"Mom made all of us get one right before we left Chicago and I never understood why." Mrs. Forester smiled at her son in somewhat of a sad way.

"Always be prepared."

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**L**ane had decided to go ahead and go home so that her mother wouldn't get upset before it came time to tell her. Lorelai had gone home in an absolute fit once she realized that Rory wasn't leaving and she couldn't make her. Rory and Dean had opted to stay behind so that they could ask questions about what was going to happen. All of them stayed in Buffy's room for a while, but when Buffy passed out on her bed, Dawn suggested that they go to her room so that her sister could get the rest she rarely got. Dean and Rory were so curious about what was going to happen and they asked so many questions. Dawn answered as many as she could, but some they would just have to wait until they arrived. Dawn told them about the setup at the Hotel and how things would work once they got there. They listened every time she spoke and didn't interrupt once, which was something that Dawn wasn't used to. Most of the potentials dismissed Dawn because she wasn't part of the Slayer brigade. Never mind that she did most of the translating and research these days by herself, they just didn't find her important. Xander always tried to make her feel better, but it was no use. So, it was a welcome relief to find people who thought she was smart enough to pay attention to. Rory leaned forward on her spot in Dawn's floor, curiosity written on every part of her face.

"So, who all is in charge of this…operation?" Dawn thought about how best to answer that.

"Well Buffy is the big wig because she was the Slayer first. Giles was her watcher, so he's like second in command because he knows just about everything. Faith is an original slayer too; she was called two years after Buffy. Buffy had technically died for a minute when fighting, so the powers that be called up another slayer even though she was brought back. Willow comes next; she's a very powerful Wicca with ridiculous power. Xander brings up the rear…he's like Buffy's general, he's awesome." Dean raised a hand to interrupt her which Dawn thought was a nice change from the shouting that usually happened instead.

"Willow can really do magic?" Dawn nodded and hesitated because to talk about Willow's strength would be to talk about when she almost destroyed the world.

"They're going to teach you some basic defensive spells so that you can defend yourself when you're out in the field with your slayer or in this case that would be plural." Rory grabbed Dawn's hand with a huge smile.

"See, you're not going to be left out…you're going to be a watcher like Dean." Dawn tried to drum up a smile at that statement, but it was hard going. She'd already been doing most of what a watcher did, but now she had to stop and take classes?

"That definitely threw me for a loop." Dean ran a hand down his tired face and looked at the floor as he spoke.

"I still can't get over my mother being a watcher. She has all of these weird books and I just thought they were fiction…I guess not." Dawn glanced down at her watch and jumped slightly in alarm. They'd been talking for hours; it was almost six in the morning. She raised her head to look at them frantically.

"Um…do you want to go to school one last time? It's that time of day." Rory gasped and jumped up from her position on the floor.

"Wow time sure does fly, doesn't it? I'd better go and get my stuff, there are a few things in my locker that I need." Dean stood up more slowly than Rory had and stretched from sitting on the floor so long.

"I need to go drop out of school, I guess. I'd better call Lane too because she needs to do the same…er…Rory you should call her, not me. I don't want to get yelled at by Mrs. Kim again, she's pretty scary." Rory's eyes got even wider at Dean's statement.

"I didn't even think about that, Dean! How am I going to get my mom to sign those papers? She'll never agree to do it, you know that." There was a small knock on Dawn's door and Dawn got up to answer it thinking it was her sister or Xander. So, she was surprised to see Lorelai standing on the threshold looking pissed. She burst through the door when Dawn answered and glared daggers at Dean and Rory.

"Rory, you are in so much trouble right now, you can't even comprehend. There is not going to be a discussion about this, get your stuff, we are leaving now!" Rory didn't move from her spot as she regarded her mother sadly.

"Mom, I'm only going home long enough to pack up the stuff I'll need to take to Rome with me. I need you to come to Chilton with me and sign the papers to drop me out." Lorelai's eyes filled up with tears at Rory's bold statement and Dawn instantly felt bad.

"You really expect me to walk into that stodgy school, where your grandparents have spent so much money on your education, and just tell them that you quit? You've only got this year left, Rory, why can't you wait until you graduate if you're going to insist on going to Rome with these people?" Rory looked at her mother solemnly, obviously having thought of that already.

"You know why I can't do that, mom. If I stay here when they leave, you'll never let me go." Lorelai took a deep breath, tears escaping down her cheeks.

"Rory, I'm warning you right now. If you do this and you make me do this, you'd better stay gone. I'll never forgive you for doing something as stupid as this." Rory took a shaky breath, her own nerves fraying at the edges and Dawn felt helpless to do anything but stand aside and watch.

"I understand that, mom, but we need to go now if we're going to go."

* * *

**T**he hardest person to sell had been Mrs. Kim just like they'd said. Mary Forester had gone to Mrs. Kim's house with brochures about a school for kids who were falling in with the wrong crowd. When asked what she meant, Mrs. Forester had told her that she'd seen Lane smoking and drinking with her bank mates, effectively sending Mrs. Kim off of the deep end. She had raged at Lane and poor Lane had sat there and taken it. She let her parents berate her for the falsehood, knowing it was the only way she'd be allowed to go. Mrs. Forester assured her that Lane wanted to get better and that the school she'd be attending was deeply religious. By the end of the day, all three of them were out of school and packed, ready to go. Dawn felt awful about how everything was working out for the two girls. Both sets of parents were angry for one reason or another and neither would probably talk to their daughters again. Only Dean got out lucky because his mother was part of the scheme and sending him. Lorelai had signed the papers and took Rory out of school. She dropped her at her house and left after making a final statement.

"There is no reversing this, Rory. You're leaving me to explain to the whole town and your grandparents what happened to you. Leave your key by the phone when you go, please."

**T**he following day, they drove to Hartford to the airport once more. Everyone was silent due to the experiences that everyone had to go through. Dean's mother had said goodbye and given him her watcher's journal that she'd never used. Rory cried off and on, unable to stop herself…Lane did the same. They wanted to go, knew they had to, but this was very hard for all of them. It took a while for them to get through security, but when they finally boarded the plane, Buffy turned to look at them before they took their seats. Dawn didn't know what was going on with her, but every single time that Buffy laid eyes on her, anger surged up inside of Dawn. She was so angry and her head became filled with reasons why she should leave the scooby nest. Buffy waited until everyone had loaded their carry-on's in the storage before she spoke to Dean, Rory, and Lane.

"Look, I know that all three of you are hurt and scared, but it'll pass…I promise. You made the right choice in coming with us today, though I know right now you're questioning that.

**D**awn ended up sitting next to Rory, who was in the middle, and Dean, who was next to the window. Andrew was sitting next to her across the aisle, Lane and Rona sat next to him. Everyone was quiet and Dawn couldn't say that she really blamed them for wanting quiet reflection. Lane was crying silently in her seat, leaving Rona to look uncomfortably at her every once in a while. Rory wasn't saying anything either, she just sat in her seat holding Dean's hand. Dawn refused to look at Andrew who kept trying to get her attention. She was still very upset that he'd taken Buffy's side and pretty much yelled at her. She should have known that Andrew would find Buffy attractive; he was attracted to powerful people. She began to wonder if she'd ever get out of her sister's shadow and at the same time wonder where these thoughts were coming from. She'd accepted her fate a long time ago. Buffy needed all of the support and help that she could get and Dawn was willing to give both. It was just the last couple of weeks, she felt like she wanted to scream at Buffy, hit her, but mainly she just wanted to leave. Finally, getting frustrated at Andrew's tactics, she glared over at him.

"What do you want, Andrew?" He smiled his nerdy smile at her, as if nothing had happened in the last couple of days.

"Well since we have a really long journey ahead of us, I thought we could use this time to talk. Everyone knows that we're dating now, so we can discuss stuff." Dawn closed her eyes briefly and shook her head.

"I distinctly remember breaking up with you the other day." Andrew frowned at her, and tried to reach out to take her hand.

"I just thought you were mad, not serious when you said that. I don't understand the problem, why do you want to break up?" Dawn glared harder at him and lowered her voice to fiercely whisper at him.

"We're done because you have a thing for my sister. Everyone can see it, it's very obvious. I thought it was just hero worship and that it would pass eventually, but you'll always idolize Buffy and by dating me, it's sort of like dating her. You are using me to get close to my sister; I don't know why I didn't see it before. Tell me that I've read the situation wrong, Andrew." Andrew looked at her in complete confusion.

"What does it matter if I admire your sister and what she does? Your sister is amazing, Dawn, but that doesn't have anything to do with me liking you." Dawn's mouth fell open at his clueless statement.

"Did you just hear yourself? I get that Buffy is cool, I even agree most of the time, but you're stalker-ish." Andrew withdrew away from her, crossed his arms, and scowled.

"I should have known that you wouldn't understand that you would just be jealous like you always are." Dean leaned over Rory and frowned at Andrew from his seat.

"Andrew, I know it's none of my business, but saying stuff like that to Dawn doesn't really help your cause." Andrew didn't even acknowledge that Dean had spoken, just turned around in his seat. Buffy walked up to Dawn's seat once they were airborne and crouched next to where she sat.

"Hey, what's going on up here? I heard my name sever times, and call me crazy, but that gets me a little bit worried." Dawn glowered over at where Andrew was pointedly ignoring them.

"Ask the dumbass over there, he's in love with you. He worships the very air that you breathe and only asked me out to get close to you." Buffy turned her stunned face to look at the blushing Andrew.

"Andrew, you really are a dumbass! I should kick your ass for doing that to my sister. Go back and sit with Xander." Andrew stomped like a little kid back to where Xander was sitting. Buffy took his seat and groaned.

"Dawnie, I'm so sorry, I know you liked him." Dawn sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever, it's totally fine." Buffy grabbed Dawn's hand and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Hey, I'm your big sister; I'm supposed to help you with things like this." Dawn rolled her eyes and snatched her hand back from Buffy's grasp.

"Please Buffy, don't even bother, okay? You're too busy to have to deal with my silly problems." Buffy looked at her taken aback, but she quickly recovered.

"We so need to talk you and me." Dawn scoffed and looked away from her sister's knowing stare.

"You can say that again. I'm not mad at you, Buffy, but if you think that shoving me into official watcher training is going to make everything okay, you're wrong." Buffy suddenly looked very tired as she stared sadly at her.

"We'll discuss it later, Dawn." Rory smiled apologetically at Dawn as Buffy walked back to where she was sitting with Xander.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Dawn?" Dawn turned to look at the other girl and nodded.

"Sure go ahead." Rory hesitated and looked at Dean before she did finally ask her question.

"What did Dean's mom mean by 'so you're the key'?" Dawn looked away, wishing seriously that Rory hadn't remembered that part of the conversation the night before.

"It's really sort of complicated to explain, but I'll give it a shot. I'm technically only about three years old." Dean and Rory gave her a confused expression, but Dean was the one to speak.

"You've lost me, what do you mean you're only three?" Dawn looked up at his face and found that he was only curious. She noticed that Rona and Lane had listened in on the conversation too.

"Well, there was this God called Glory. She was some sort of Hell dimension God that had been exiled to our dimension. She was looking for this key that would open up the portal to her world so that she could go home. The only problem with that was the portal would have ripped the dimension barriers down. The monks that were in charge of taking care of the key were able to make some mojo right before she killed them…they made me." Rona's eyes went wide as she listened to the story and Lane's mouth dropped open. Dean could only stare at her, so Rory took over the conversation again.

"How did you end up with Buffy?" Dawn couldn't help but smile as she thought of all the times she and her sister had fought before she herself had found out she was the key.

"The monks used her blood somehow and made me. They knew the slayer was the only person who could protect me from Glory. They built memories for everyone my sister was close to of when I was younger so that no one would know…it was a great plan." Rory shook her head in amazement as she continued to look at her.

"A great plan, I'm sure, but that had to have been hard on you." Dawn nodded her agreement. They didn't talk much after that and Dawn dozed off and on.

* * *

**I**t took them a long time to get into the country. Dawn couldn't shake the feeling that Rory and Dean looked at her differently now that they knew what she was. So, when they got into the car, she folded her arms in her lap and stared out the window, missing the looks of concern that Dean, Lane, and Rory were sending her. They didn't understand that it was going to be different for them now. Rory and Lane were going to start training and they wouldn't have time to be friends with other people that weren't slayers. It was going to be very hard for Rory and Dean, but Dawn didn't want to be the one to tell them that little fun fact. When they arrived at the hotel, Willow immediately rushed over to them with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey guys, it's good to have you back! Oh, newbies right, sorry about that, I'm Willow." Buffy laughed at her best friend.

"Did they misbehave while I was gone?" Willow shook her head, she was still grinning.

"No, all was well. Faith had everything pretty much under control." She greeted the new people in her goofy sort of way. Dawn started to walk in the direction of her room when Willow called out to her.

"Welcome back, Dawnie!" Dawn just kept walking; she wasn't feeling up for chatting.

"Whatever." Willow pouted and looked over at Buffy, hurt.

"What's wrong with her? When she left, she was all happy and snuggly with Andrew, though I still can't wrap my head around that." Buffy shrugged with her face full of worry as she watched Dawn's retreating back.

"I don't know, Wils, but it's got me worried. She's been acting weird since we got to Stars Hollow. She told me that she wanted out of the scoobies and wanted to go out on her own. I thought that by putting her in the watcher program and giving her the title officially, she'd be happy to be included, but she's gotten worse. I can't risk her going off on her own, you know that." Willow continued to pout as she nodded in agreement.

"I can talk to her if you want, Buffy." Buffy declined that by shaking her head.

"No I'll do it, but thanks for offering. Can you get these three their room assignments, I'm sure they're tired. Dean can have a single, but I'd like Rory and Lane to split up, they need to mingle and get to know the other girls." Willow nodded and ushered the three teenagers to the front desk where she kept record of who was here.

"I could put one of them in Dawnie's room." Buffy actually chuckled at Willow's suggestion.

"Do you really want to start world war three?" Willow continued to giggle as she went through the computer files for an empty space.

"Come on, Buff, it would be funny." She turned to the newbies then, her giggle still playing on her lips.

"We've got an odd number of boys, so Dean…you get a room to yourself." He gratefully took the key that Willow handed him, relief on his face.

"How many rooms does this place have anyway?" Willow shrugged as she thought about it; it depended on what they used some of the rooms for.

"There are seven floors, so we're not really hurting for space right now, just the help." Dean's mouth dropped open at her words.

"How the hell do you guys afford this place?" Willow went ahead and told him since he was going to be a watcher.

"The watchers council had an insane amount of money in their account and Giles was still on the board as a signer. He's opened up accounts and he distributes the money as needed. Apparently the government knows about the council and the slayers, so the main account gets replenished once a month…very nifty. We'll cover funding and payment in your orientations tomorrow. So, Dean you're in 416, why don't you go ahead and go up and catch a nap before dinner." Dean kissed Rory lightly and said goodbye to Lane before doing just that. Willow turned her attention back to the girls with a smile.

"Okay Ms. Lane Kim and Rory Gilmore, give me just a second to find a good fit for you." They waited patiently while Willow zoomed through her logs on the computer. She looked at Lane and handed her a key.

"Lane, I'm bunking you with Vi, she's a pretty cool chick, she's in 243. Rory, I'm putting you in 226 with Talia, another very cool chick. If you guys ever find that you don't get along with your roommate, come and talk to me." The girls took their keys and walked exhaustedly to their assigned rooms.


End file.
